I'm a joke

LegacyUser

I'm in the final year of a combined course with a language. Most of the subjects I do are fair enough, it's mostly a case of understanding, going for the exam, passing the exam then keeping on going til the end. Only, I'm really crap at most of my subjects and I've made it to final year like this.

I was given out to by my lecturer in the language that's with the course saying I won't deserve to have it on my degree with my level. She said I really need to sit up and take notice of what I'm doing if I truly want to actually get somewhere.

I'm a joke. I am feeling so horrible, the last assignment I submitted she sent back to me saying she's not even going to attempt to give me any feedback because it's worse that what a first year would submit. I only chose this course because I got 2 Bs in the main subjects for my leaving cert, I feel like I've got myself into a right rut. Everyone else seems to know what they're doing and be capable of pleasing the teacher, whereas I'm just falling through the gaps....

Any advice please?

LegacyUser

Give it your absolute best. If that doesn't work, drop out.

Johnny Bitte

just do your best. Thats all you can do.

I remember being the same in my course, thought I was crap at it because I could get my head around some subjects.

Put my head down and passed the exams (barely) and now have a successfully career and don't use any of that crap!

Don't be so hard on yourself, but put the effort in.

LegacyUser

It sounds like your lecturer is being very unhelpful, have you considered asking for someone else to mark your work? I have never heard of a lecturer refusing to even give feedback on a piece of work. There job is to help you and if you're struggling they should be particularly willing to help you.

You say everyone else else in the class seems to understand, could you go to one of them and ask them for some help, most people are willing to help someone who is struggling.

shoes34

finallythere wrote: »

I feel like I've got myself into a right rut. Everyone else seems to know what they're doing and be capable of pleasing the teacher, whereas I'm just falling through the gaps....

Any advice please?

Is there anyone you can talk to and get some help in the subjects - maybe another person in your class. You've made it to the final year so you must be good at it and maybe are just feeling a little overwhelmed.

LegacyUser

I've only ever made it to 2 class honors grade 2 in all other years, I can't seem to bring it up, I am really trying but I seem to be losing track of everything.


There are a lot of students in the class, I don't know a lot of them mainly because it's a mixed class so we've different course students on it. The ones that are on my course who attend have shrugged me off twice ( i went to them when they were outside class waiting to go in) they said they were too busy with their other modules to spare a few hours.

The lecturer said on the first day of the module that she will not be teaching anyone, that she will give guidelines only, and that we must find out own way through it and she willl give us negative feedback , and that she strictly does not deal with praise etc.. No other lecturer this year (not any other year) has ever said a thing like that to a class.

I'm going to put my head down and start working harder. There's a few other problems that seem to have hit me this year too so maybe I'm just shocked and trying to pile every insecurity on to this pile.

Snakeblood

Do your best, try to find a tutor or a classmate who can give you one to one time.

Remember that this isn't your entire life, it's just a small facet of it, and while it's important, it's not the be all and end all.

I got turfed out of college for much the same reasons, and while it's much better to stay in and do well, it's also not the end of the world if you don't make it through. The two B's means you're not stupid though, and you can get this. Have a little faith in yourself.

dory

If it's a language you're struggling in then make sure you're doing all that you possibly can to brush up on it.

Your local library should have some of Pimleur, Michel thomas, Assimil and many more that will help with your aural comprehension and conversation for your oral exam.

Find a language buddy who will speak to you once or twice a week in the language.

Watch TV, read the newspaper, get some parallel texts in the language.

If you need them, get grinds.

there's so much you can do to improve your skill level in a language. In 6 months you could make a significant improvement.

solovely

I'm sure your college must have a guidance counsellor that you can speak to, and a student welfare officer. Just saying "do your best" is not a solution if you are already doing your best, and your lecturer has such a negative opinion of you that even your best is going to be measured negatively by them.

College counsellors are there to help, trained in this sort of stuff. Maybe you can switch classes, maybe you can get grinds, extra help, may you can show that the lecturer is unfarily biased against you. This could also be causing you stress and affecting other subjects.

My sister was in a similar situation and failed her masters, but wrote a letter about her lecturer and passed on an appeal because of his unfair treatment towards her. You need documented evidence that you are trying to remedy the situation though!

Good luck. And please don't let this affect your confidence overall. Hard I know.

Kevo

Head down and work hard for your final year. Don't listen to your lecturer. It doesn't matter if there is a even a hint of truth in it, this kind of harsh criticism is not constructive and will only make things worse. You need to block it from your mind and focus on your studies. Perhaps some grinds would also benefit you.

mikemac

Do your best

I found the Michel Thomas programs fantastic, they are cheap on ebay
You need to listen to the language constantly, reading text in a book won't cut it.
Listen to programs, radio shows and anything else constantly. Get yourself tuned

LegacyUser

finallythere wrote: »

I'm in the final year of a combined course with a language. Most of the subjects I do are fair enough, it's mostly a case of understanding, going for the exam, passing the exam then keeping on going til the end. Only, I'm really crap at most of my subjects and I've made it to final year like this.

I was given out to by my lecturer in the language that's with the course saying I won't deserve to have it on my degree with my level. She said I really need to sit up and take notice of what I'm doing if I truly want to actually get somewhere.

I'm a joke. I am feeling so horrible, the last assignment I submitted she sent back to me saying she's not even going to attempt to give me any feedback because it's worse that what a first year would submit. I only chose this course because I got 2 Bs in the main subjects for my leaving cert, I feel like I've got myself into a right rut. Everyone else seems to know what they're doing and be capable of pleasing the teacher, whereas I'm just falling through the gaps....

Any advice please?

The lack of guidance does seem a bit harsh alright but sounds like she thinks you're a messer. Do you attend all your classes? Have you gone and collected your assignments in the past to make sure you get feedback? Do you come to class prepared with the required reading done, etc?

It would be easier to advise you if we have more info here.

LegacyUser

Hi, no I m not a "messer", I go to all of my classes, subscribed to the reading material (some of it was paid access to websites..) and bought (second hand) the three books she told us to get and have been reading up a lot more on things.

some students complained of emailing her for advice on what to do in certain situations and she simply ignored them and said in class (again) that she's not up for teaching , she's there to give feedback... In that case, I would like to know why there is a class.. It's just dreadful the entire setup..

I missed my first assignment submission as I had to attend an all-day seminar (so did everyone else in my class, as they were attending also, and they equally missed the date because it was the day after the class, in the evening at 5, seminar went on until 4.30, the day before we were in lectures until 6 and most people only had the bare essentials done) but since the class is mixed so she had enough input from the other students and didn't make light of us.

I have never been given such negative feedback like this from a teacher before but I suppose there's a first for everything and I need to wake up.

Thank you for the advice on catching up and really grasping the language I'm going to visit a few websites and see what I can do. I'm going to ignore her, submit everything as required and then when It comes to the exam i'll do it, pass or fail, at least I know i'll have made the effort.